With the increased popularity and widespread acceptance of cellular communication, many individuals with cellular telephones have increased the use of their phones while performing multiple tasks, including using their phones while walking or driving. In the case of driving while using the phone, a user typically holds the receiving unit against his or her ear, which increases the likelihood of traffic accidents since only one hand is available for driving. To help reduce the risk of traffic accidents, and to provide users with the convenience of hands-free communication while driving or performing other tasks, many companies are manufacturing, selling and promoting the use of headsets in connection with cellular phones and conventional landline telephones.
Currently, the majority of headsets on the market are designed to connect directly to a cellular phone or a conventional telephone (i.e. base units) via a wire. Although the wire provides for a secure connection to the base unit, the wire can be rather cumbersome. A wire connection between the headset and the base unit limits the mobility of a user, makes the storage of the phone system inconvenient and may cause the headset to be thrown from a person's head if the wire becomes caught on other objects, which can easily occur.
In response to the inconvenience of the headsets connected to a base unit via a wire, several companies have designed wireless headsets. Typically, wireless headsets are marketed and sold for use in connection with conventional landline telephones such as those found in the home or at the office. Only very recently have companies begun marketing and selling wireless headsets for use in connection with cellular telephones.
Although there are a wide-variety of headsets available on the market, all of the headsets, both wireless headsets and those having a wire, can typically be categorized into one of three general categories—ear bud headsets, on-the-ear headsets and over-the-head headsets. The first type, the ear bud headset, is most typically a headset having a wire connection to the base unit. The ear bud headsets have the speaker encased in a soft, flexible, generally cylindrically-shaped casing that is designed to be positioned in the opening of the auditory canal of a user's ear and held in place by the pressure of the casing against portions of the human ear, known as the tragus, concha and antitragus of the user's ear. To provide additional stability, and help prevent the ear bud from dislodging from the user's ear, ear bud headsets also often include an earpiece that extends around the exterior perimeter, or pinna, of a user's ear. These types of headsets are often uncomfortable, easily dislodged from the ear and difficult to secure into the ear. Further, when used in connection with earpieces, these types of headsets often require the use of two hands to secure the headset against the ear. In an automobile, for example, securing a headset with two hands can cause significant distraction and danger to a driver, as well as to nearby cars and pedestrians.
On-the-ear headsets are offered as one alternative to ear bud headsets. On-the-ear headsets (also sometimes referred to as over-the-ear headsets) are those headsets having speakers that rest on the exterior of the ear just opposite the auditory canal. The speakers are generally held against the ear via an earpiece that extends from the speaker and wraps over and around the perimeter, or pinna, of the user's ear. These types of headsets, while eliminating the discomfort caused through the use of ear buds, can be extremely difficult to secure onto a user's ear. Such headsets typically require the use of two hands to place the earpiece around the perimeter of the ear to secure the headset. Again, the dangers associated with driving and two-handed headsets also exist here with the on-the-ear headset.
Another alternative to both the ear bud and on-the-ear headsets are the headsets commonly known as over-the-head headsets. These headsets typically utilize speakers that rest on the ear in a position opposite the auditory canal, similar to the over-the-ear headsets, but have a head band extending there from that wraps at least partially over the user's head. One disadvantage to this type of headset is that the headset is generally large and bulky in comparison to the other headsets and thereby more difficult to store. Another disadvantage, which is actually a common disadvantage to many of the headsets, is that the headset cannot be used on either ear without first manipulating the headset by rotating the mouthpiece, or in other designs, by rotating the speaker, 180 degrees. This type of headset also requires two hands to secure around the head.
Of these three general styles, the most popular style used in connection with wireless headsets is the over-the-head headset because wireless headsets, unlike those with wire connections, require a battery pack and electronics disposed on the headset. Over-the-head headsets provide more options for the placement of the battery pack and the electronics because over-the-head headsets are generally more bulky than the other types of headsets and cover a larger surface area.
A need therefore exists for a wireless headset that avoids the disadvantages of the headsets described above.